Five teams will compete in the new series of the BBC travel show, racing from Europe to Mongolia
Race Across the World is returning with a new series
(Image: BBC screengrab)
The upcoming Race Across the World contestants are shown battling through thick snow in an early look at the new series.
The much-loved BBC programme – which features teams racing vast distances on limited budgets, without phones and banned from flying – is back for a sixth series, and the broadcaster has released a short preview in a teaser trailer, reports Wales Online.
Whilst the departure point hasn’t been revealed yet, this season the participants will face the challenge of travelling from Europe “to the uncharted edges of Mongolia”. Footage in the trailer captures the racers riding horses, navigating major cities, leaping from boats and attempting to hitch lifts.
“The further they go, the closer they’ll get,” flashes across the screen, as one of this year’s participants is heard saying: “This race, it’s a lifetime of exploring in such a short amount of time.
“It’s going to open up a lot of doors not many people have the privilege to unlock.”
Another contestant is then heard exclaiming: “This is an adventure.”
The BBC teased: “In this vast east-to-west journey, five pairs race from the familiarities of Europe all the way to the uncharted edges of Mongolia in Race Across the World series six.
“These teams must forge their own path… But on this journey of extremes, who will finish first? No flights. No phones. No safety net… Let the race begin!”
Fans have declared they “can’t wait” following the series preview, with one posting on Instagram: “So excited for this.”
“OMG…. Can’t wait for this one!!!” gushed one person, whilst another fan declared: “My favourite programme.”
“Yippee!” enthused another viewer, as somebody else wrote: “Yesssssss!! Cannot wait – best programme!!”
Last year’s series of Race Across the World saw the teams departing from The Great Wall of China before journeying across China, Nepal and India to reach the finishing point of Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.
It was claimed by mother and son pairing Caroline and Tom, who secured the £20,000 prize after becoming the first duo to arrive at the final checkpoint.
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With a population of just 900,000, Reunion is better known for its volcanoes, wildlife and tropical climate rather than professional footballers.
On the men’s side, former West Ham star Dimitri Payet and Newcastle winger Laurent Robert are two that fans may remember – but those that make it all the way form a short list.
Growing up, Malard tried her hand at boxing, karate, judo and handball before discovering football.
“When I tried football, I said ‘that is my sport’ because I could put in a lot of energy and could play free,” she says.
She began playing in the island’s capital for Saint-Denis FC before the chance meeting with Bompastor, who was managing the Lyon academy at the time.
“She tells me, ‘Mel, I like you, come to Lyon’. I had two months to think but I said yes right away because it was a big opportunity in my life,” Malard says.
The transition from sunny Reunion to the bitter winters of Lyon all alone at the age of 14 was a shock to her system.
“It was so difficult but I knew what I wanted and I knew it was football,” she says. “Every morning and every night, I would put my boots on, go to the pitch and I would be happy.”
Seizing those early opportunities has paid off handsomely for Malard – three league titles, four Champions League medals and the experience of playing alongside some of the best in the world at Lyon and the France national team.
Now, in Manchester, she is continuing to love her experiences – despite that gloomy weather.
“Every time I pass Old Trafford, it’s a dream for me,” Malard says. “The people are so nice when I play football, singing my name at the stadium. The club is very big, has a lot of history and I enjoy it a lot here.”
And it will be a full-circle moment for Malard against Chelsea, managed by Bompastor, in the cup final.
“I’m excited, it’s good for us and this club deserve that,” says Malard, who featured in the 4-0 win against Tottenham in the 2023-24 FA Cup final as United lifted their first major women’s trophy.
“I’m also excited to play against my [former] coach. If we win, we put the name again in history and that is what we want.
“I’m confident because I believe in this team – I believe in this club. We are here to win everything we can.”
From the pre-fight weigh-in to the ring-walk, Jones is fully prepared for a number of firsts in Derby.
“It feels even more crazy, the fact I’m going to get in a boxing ring, doing the walk-on that everyone talks about, no head guard, a full on fight, it is crazy, but I am crazy and I absolutely love it,” she said.
“The ring-walk, the lights, the ring, even things like getting your hands wrapped, I’m really trying to embrace everything and try to enjoy it.
“Life’s about making memories and new experiences. Not many can say that they’ve done that walk. I’m really proud of myself for committing to the challenge.”
Nicknamed ‘The Headhunter’ during her glittering taekwondo career due to her ability to kick opponents in the head, Jones is no stranger to being ruthless in combat.
But even an athlete as fierce as Jones accepts she may need to improve her game face when it comes to her upcoming face-off with Criss.
“I’ve had a little practice with the guys in here and I just always end up bursting out laughing,” she said of learning to square up to an opponent during the pre-fight build-up.
“Hopefully I can be a more serious on the night and a bit more scary.”
Two people took the Bakerloo line on one of London’s shortest Tube journeys while another walked between the stations – with surprising results showing walking was faster
Some trips on the London Underground last less than a minute (stock image)(Image: Jan Woitas/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
While the London Underground is undeniably handy most of the time, there are some journeys that seem barely worth the hassle. By the time you’ve reached the station, scanned your ticket or Oyster card, gone down the stairs or escalator, waited for your train, then made the return journey back to street level and scanned back out, you could probably have walked the distance just as quickly.
The people at secret.london decided to put this theory to the test, with two people tackling one of the capital’s briefest Tube journeys, whilst another made the same trip on foot to determine who’d arrive first.
The journey from Marylebone Station to Baker Street on the Bakerloo line lasts just 57 seconds – however, the time spent getting to and from the platforms, plus waiting for the train, will bump this up. The stations sit just 0.2 miles apart, with the walk between them taking around six minutes, according to Google Maps.
Kicking off the video, narrator Tom said: “This has got to be the most pointless Tube journey in London.” He continued: “Today we’re racing between Marylebone and Baker Street, with Google predicting a six minute walk versus a one minute Tube ride, who’s going to get there first?”
The footage then shows Tom and two female colleagues at Marylebone Station simultaneously starting timers on their phones, before he heads off on foot whilst the women dart into the station, reports MyLondon. The footage captures the women striding quickly – but not running – through the station, while navigating the ticket barrier and commuters blocking the escalator.
Tom, meanwhile, is filmed making his way through the streets, remarking: “Of course we’re doing it in such terrible weather. You’ve got to be prepared for everything, so I have come with a brolly.”
He continues: “I’m feeling good about this. Those guys have got to get onto the platform (and) find a tube that’s hopefully on time.”
The women are then spotted reaching the platform, with the next service due in two minutes, while Tom encounters his “first obstacle” – a set of traffic lights. “A fun fact about Baker Street Station: it’s the oldest Tube station in the world,” he says. “It was created on January 10 in 1863.
“But was it built to be the fastest? I don’t know.”
The women are subsequently shown getting on the train, their timers displaying four minutes and 20 seconds, and counting. “It’s not our fault we’re tiny and petite and he’s big and lanky and long,” one remarks.
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They’re then filmed getting off the train and moving swiftly towards the exit. Tom, by contrast, stands across the road from the station entrance.
“I can see the entrance to the station and they’re not outside it, so I think I’ve got a good chance” he says. After a frantic dash up the escalator and a tussle with a stubborn ticket barrier, the women display the timer, reading six minutes and 26 seconds, as they reach the station entrance – only to find Tom already there.
Tom finished the journey in six minutes and 16 seconds, remarking: “So for this one, you probably should walk it.”
Wood Lane – Shepherds Bush 55 secs (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)
Goodge Street – Tottenham Court Road 56 secs (Norther line)
Baker Street – Marylebone 57 secs (Bakerloo line)
Bond Street – Oxford Circus 57 secs (Central line)
Marylebone – Edgware Road 57 secs (Bakerloo line)
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This breathtaking train journey is right beside the sea, where you can see black swans, quaint villages, and even see waves crashing into the tracks.
For just £8 you can enjoy miles of stunning views(Image: Getty)
It is often said that the journey matters just as much as the destination – and across the UK, certain train routes are so stunning they become an attraction in themselves. The Riviera Line is a railway route in Devon, England, renowned for its spectacular scenery, as it is one of the few railways in Britain that runs directly alongside the sea.
This train journey covers 28 miles from Exeter city centre to the town of Paignton, taking approximately 50 to 60 minutes. It is one of the most affordable ways to soak up the most picturesque landscapes of the English Riviera, where waves are known to crash across the train tracks.
A single ticket costs around £8 for an adult, with most websites pricing them at £8.40, and returns available at £10.70.
It has also been recognised as one of the “most scenic train journeys” in Britain by National Geographic, which highlights that it showcases “the best views the English Riviera has to offer.”
They said: “South Devon’s Riviera Line connects Exeter with Paignton, threading its way past towering cliffs, numerous estuaries (look out for egrets, one of the UK’s rarest birds), quaint market towns and Powderham Castle, with its deer-filled grounds.”
What can you see on the Riviera Line?
Once you depart Exeter, the train hugs the Exe Estuary, a vast expanse of water where the River Exe meets the English Channel, reports the Express.
Passengers are treated to breathtaking views of the shimmering sea, whilst numerous boats can be spotted making their way along the riverbanks. Have your camera at the ready the moment you arrive at Starcross, a tranquil rural village, as you’ll encounter the renowned sea wall at Dawlish.
Waves frequently crash spectacularly straight over the railway line, creating a stunning sight, and you’ll also witness the iconic sandstone cliffs, celebrated for their vivid rusty red hue.
Dawlish is equally famous for its black swans, though the region serves as a sanctuary for distinctive birdlife as you can regularly observe egrets, herons and waders along the coastline.
The train also passes through Teignmouth, a seaside resort recognised for its vibrant houses and enormous Victorian pier extending into the sea.
You’ll then sweep past the English countryside, where you’ll observe abundant green woodland, agricultural land, tiny hamlets, and you’ll also catch sight of the Dartmoor hills on the horizon
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As you near Paignton, you’ll begin to notice palm trees as the locale is renowned for having gentler weather than the rest of Britain and enjoys summers warm enough for tropical vegetation.
Be sure to sit on the right-hand side of the train at Exeter for the finest views, and you’ll be able to savour the best of Britain’s coastal landscape without requiring a car or ferry.
Inside its sci-fi trappings — space travel, crazy technology, oodles of extraterrestrials — Pixar’s “Elio” is the story of an outsider kid who finds a new family. That’s true of the protagonist, a lonely boy who longs to leave Earth, and of the film itself.
“Elio’s” original mission was launched by Adrian Molina, co-writer of “Coco,” who worked on writing and directing the project for a couple of years before departing, officially to devote himself to “Coco 2.” Molina was replaced in “Elio’s” director’s chair(s) by Domee Shi, who helmed “Turning Red” and won an Oscar for her short “Bao,” and Madeline Sharafian, a story artist on “Coco” and story lead on “Turning Red.”
“The basic premise from Adrian’s beginning, five years ago, has stayed the same,” says Sharafian: “A lonely, weird little boy gets abducted by aliens and is mistaken for the leader of Earth. The biggest change we made, and everything rippled from there, was that Elio always wanted to be abducted by aliens, to find a place where he belongs.”
Shi says, “Both of us were weirdo kids in our respective hometowns who dreamed of not being the only one. I was one of the only kids in my school that liked anime. When I finally got into animation school, I was like, ‘I found my people, and I didn’t realize how much I wanted this.’ ”
One tectonic shift under Shi and Sharafian came from screenwriter Julia Cho, who co-wrote “Turning Red” with Shi: Instead of Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña) being Elio’s mom, she would be his aunt. Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) would lose both parents before the film. That reconfigured his alienation, so to speak. A harsh confrontation between mother and child usually rests on the foundation that they already know and love each other. For an orphaned boy and his guardian aunt, that closeness must be earned.
“That love isn’t a given,” says Sharafian. “There was no assumption it would be there. So when it is, it’s all the more moving.”
“Elio” directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian’s shared “visual language” reshaped the film after they took on the project from its initial director, Adrian Molina.
(Pixar Animation Studios)
Amid the changes, Shi and Sharafian say the working relationship they established on “Turning Red” was invaluable.
Shi says, “Though we have different backgrounds, we grew up watching a lot of the same movies. Both of us love Miyazaki films, we love ‘Sailor Moon,’ we love Disney, Pixar.”
Sharafian adds, “We speak the same visual language. There would be many moments when it was time to come up with a new shot and we both drew the same thing.”
In its 28 previous features, Pixar had dabbled in sci-fi, but “Elio” is immersed in it, with just a soupçon of … horror?
“We’re huge fans of sci-fi horror,” says Shi, “and we wanted to use those moments with Elio’s clone and Olga to have fun, to playfully scare some kids — and some adults too.”
That “clone” is a dead ringer for the protagonist, but it emerged from space goo and formed into an eerily cheerful version of the boy, like something from “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” or “The Stepford Wives,” but nice.
“The movies that impacted me the most as a kid, a lot of them did scare me, but they rewarded me as well,” says Shi. “Our film has this Spielberg-y, comfortable, nostalgic, family sci-fi vibe. So when the audience is at their most comfortable, that’s the perfect opportunity to give ’em a little spook.” Both directors cackle.
Sharafian adds, “ ‘Close Encounters’ is so scary, but in an amazing, tense way, and the musical [phrase] the aliens sent, I was so haunted by that. When we had the universe reach out to Elio, we were like, ‘How do we capture that same feeling — we want to know more, but we’re unsure of their intentions?’ ”
Beyond Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T.,” the shared influences of the sci-fi horror of “The Thing” and “Alien” influenced their choice of a virtual anamorphic lens for their cinematography and aping the visual noise and atmospheric mist in those films.
Among the changes Shi and Sharafian made to “Elio” is its “epic” widescreen aspect ratio.
(Pixar Animation Studios)
Shi adds that they also changed the aspect ratio from 1.85 (standard widescreen) to 2.39:1 (anamorphic widescreen, an ultrawide look): “It helped shots of Elio on Earth feel more lonely, but also made space feel more epic.”
“To lay that on top of” Molina’s existing work, says Sharafian, “completely changed what the movie looked like.”
The directors agree that most of the film seamlessly blends their input, though Shi specialized in the horror and action sequences, while Sharafian leaned into the emotional scenes.
“A lot of Act 1 was you, Maddie,” says Shi, “where he’s feeling soulful and lonely. I love that. Yearning, watching the stars. I feel like that’s probably from your own childhood.”
Sharafian chuckles and says, “Yes, I was very lonely! My sister and I say we had ‘rich inner lives’ because we didn’t have a lot going on outside.”
It’s not “Up”-level gut-wrenching, but the scenes establishing the heartbroken boy’s lingering trauma hit pretty hard.
“I feel like it’s good to be sad,” says Sharafian. “At Pixar, we’re lucky; we get to stay in a childlike headspace for a really long time. I think we forget how deep children’s emotions are and how, when you’re young, you’re already thinking about very sad things and dark things. So I don’t think it’s too much.”
One train journey takes a staggering 167 hours to complete, with the railway spanning eight time zones to make it the longest in the world
The train journey is the longest, direct railway in the world(Image: Bruno Morandi/Getty)
The longest direct train journey in the world stretches a staggering 5,771 miles and takes almost a week to complete. Passengers on board the train undertake a mammoth journey through eight time zones.
The Trans-Siberian Railroad claims the title of the longest single rail system in the world. It connects east and west Russia, running from Moscow to Vladivostok.
To travel the length of the railway, it takes approximately 167 hours and requires no passenger changes. Heading east from Moscow, the train crosses the country to the Pacific Ocean.
There are even non-stop train options, so all passengers remain on board throughout the seven days. If you prefer to get off and explore the local surroundings, passengers can opt for the stopping service.
However, this takes between 14 and 20 days to complete. The Trans-Siberian railway runs through cities such as Moscow, Yaroslavl, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita, Khabarovsk, and Vladivostok.
There’s also the Trans-Manchurian line, which runs through northern China to Beijing, and the Trans-Mongolian, which heads to Beijing but passes through Ulan Bator.
A famous train on the Trans-Siberian railway is Rossiya (the Russia), which has second-class sleepers, third-class open-plan sleeper bunks, and a restaurant car.
Passengers can pay for four tickets to ensure sole occupancy of a four-berth compartment, even if they’re the only ones travelling. The bunks convert to seats during the day, with toilets and washrooms at the ends of the corridors.
Many tourists who travelled the route chose not to start or end their journey in Russia. Tourists once began in London and made their way to Moscow before boarding the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Once in Vladivostok, tourists could then head to Korea, Japan, or China without taking a plane. National Geographic also ran tours along the route, offering tourists the chance to travel on “one of the world’s most legendary railways.”
They described the journey: “Set out on an epic train journey across one-third of the world, travelling from Vladivostok, Russia to the heart of Moscow along the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway.
“From the Mongolian steppe to Lake Baikal’s remote shores to the snow-capped Ural Mountains, trace the history of tsars, exiles, and Mongols in the comfort of our luxury train, the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express. Encounter remote cultures and the unique architecture of Siberia’s wooden cottages and Moscow’s onion domes.”
Tours like these have been halted, yet the train is reportedly still being used by Russians. The UK Government warn against all travel to Russia.
Official advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office says: “FCDO advises against all travel to Russia due to the risks and threats from its continuing invasion of Ukraine, including security incidents, such as drone attacks, and Russian air defence activity, lack of flights to return to the UK and limited ability for the UK government to provide support.”
